NORTHAMPTON — The City Council approved a zoning change for a section of Conz Street on Thursday that clears the way for the pending sale of the World War II Club.
The ordinance, which must still be approved by the mayor, would change the zoning of nine parcels on Conz Street, including the World War II Club property, from neighborhood business to central business.
Two people from Signature Sounds, the Northampton record label and concert producer, have a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy the World War II Club’s building and liquor license. The club, which has been financially struggling, is currently home to a bar and a room for special events, and prospective buyers Jim Olsen, Signature Sounds president, and Peter Hamelin, director of live music, plan to use the space to host live music.
But, neighborhood business zoning doesn’t allow nightclubs, according to Carolyn Misch, assistant director of the city’s planning and sustainability department. The sale is tied to the zoning change.
At previous meetings, some residents opposed a zoning change because they worried about noise from a nightclub, while others were supportive of it. All city councilors who attended the virtual meeting Thursday voted to pass the ordinance.
Before voting on the ordinance, Councilor James Nash said, “I am hopeful that we are on track to rectify a long history of things not quite lining up, the history of how things have developed at the World War II Club. There’s a bit of mystery around how they got permission to open up a club serving liquor,” he said, noting that there’s no record of City Council voting to allow it.
Councilor William Dwight noted the vote was for the ordinance, not the project. “We’re not actually voting on projects, specifically. We’re voting on zoning that might allow for these projects to occur,” he said. “Signature Sounds is not a done deal.”
Despite the pandemic, Olsen said he hopes to move forward with the sale. “But the upheaval caused by the pandemic has slowed progress,” he told the Gazette in an email. “We should know more in the coming weeks about the future of the project.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.